2012 Melville Chardonnay Estate

Community Tasting Notes (14) Avg Score: 88.7 points

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  8/21/2021 - The Drunken Cyclist Likes this wine: 89 Points

  Retail $36. Under DIAM. I was sent this bottle as part of a Zoom tasting hosted by DIAM to highlight the advantages of the agglomerated stopper. It was my third tasting of the morning/afternoon so I decided not to pop all of the wines supplied for the event. Thus, a few months later, I decided to pop this wine as I was preparing dinner for my in-laws' anniversary dinner (no, it was not a wine to share with them). A couple of months ago, many of the other participants in the Zoom were quite effusive about this wine, lauding its attributes nearly a decade out. Back in the day, when Greg Brewer was the winemaker, I was a huge fan of the brand, but since he left, I have lost touch a bit. Now in the hands of Chad Melville, son of the founder, the wine has certainly taken on a bit of a stylistic change. Fairly golden in the glass with some citrus and considerable salinity on the nose, this wine seems to have moved onto a secondary/tertiary flavor profile. The palate bears this out, with subtle fruit but intense acidity, this is still hanging in there quite well. No longer "fresh as a daisy" this is more of a "mature" wine with honeysuckle, minerality, and just a hint of oak more prominent than the aforementioned fruit. This is my first foray into this vintage, which is too bad as I would have loved to have seen this where the fruit were more assertive. Very Good.
  
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  6/2/2021 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 92 Points

  Deep yellow color. Aromas of yellow apple, lemon curd, honeycomb, but still so lively with gingerbread, peanut shell and sea salt. Aging so well with creamy prettiness, deep texture, with lively acidity, fruits like lemon curd, orange peel, key lime pie. Notes of nuts, chalk, minerals and sea salt add complexity and depth, and this age-worthiness seems so awesome. Wow.

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  12/6/2016 - suburbanfrog wrote: 88 Points

  Lemon curd on palette. Not much nose and a lot of alcohol heat. Was hoping for some vanilla or toast from oak, but I really couldn't find any signs of oak in this bottle as was the case for 4 other people. It definitely would've helped this wine.

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  9/8/2016 - r4Cali Does not like this wine: 80 Points

  Too much oak, not my style

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  6/25/2015 - Christoffer78 Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Wonderful and exhibiting the same power and elegance always found in this wine. Exotic fruits is beautifully intertwined with colza, lemon zest and subtle minerals. The palate adds nicely to the overall experience with balance and integration. Especially the oak treatment is worth mentioning as it really adds to the complexity of the wine without putting itself at too much display. Again, this might be a powerful wine but it is still elegant and represents skilful winemaking.

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